How to pray for those who are afraid (even if that means praying for yourself)

5:30 am
Wendy van Eyck
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Tell those who worry, the anxious and fearful, “Take strength; have courage! There’s nothing to fear. Look, here—your God! Right here is your God! The balance is shifting; God will right all wrongs. None other than God will give you success. He is coming to make you safe.” Isaiah 35:4 (VOICE)

I have known others who are afraid.

They have whispered their fears to me in coffee shops and over office desks and huddled on the couch. As they share their worries about the future I push my lips together so my own fears don’t become the topic of conversation instead of theirs.

Some days I am still afraid. Afraid to even voice my deepest fears. Fears about my husband’s health, his next set of test results and what the future may hold. Fears that I am scared to write incase somehow tapping them out brings them to life.

I have sat with those who are afraid and wondered how to pray for them, with them.

How to pray words that comfort but also speak hope, words that appeal to God’s mercy but also declare his sovereignty?

The other day as I read my bible I found the words that I was searching for tucked into Isaiah 35:4:

I read those words again, absorbing the truth that there is nothing to fear because God – my God – is right with me.

I love that Isaiah lifts my eyes from my fears to my God.

There is freedom from fear when I realise God is with me. (tweet this)

No fear I have is bigger than my God who is right beside me.(tweet this)

Ponder: How do you pray for those who are afraid?

Prayer: Take strength; have courage! There’s nothing to fear. Look, here—your God! Right here is your God! The balance is shifting; God will right all wrongs. None other than God will give you success. He is coming to make you safe.

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I'm Wendy and I'm learning to love well, run well and read well. I write for anyone who has ever held a loved one’s hand through illness, or believed in God despite hard circumstances or ever left on a spontaneous 2-week holiday through a foreign land with just a backpack.

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I'm learning to love well, run well and read well. I’m married to Xylon - a man who talks non-stop about cycling - and makes me laugh. I write for anyone who has ever held a loved one’s hand through illness, or believed in God despite hard circumstances or ever left on a spontaneous 2-week holiday through a foreign land with just a backpack.